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Social Reform --Abolition -- Grade 08 -- Internet Resources
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I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch –

AND I WILL BE HEARD.

- William L. Garrison

OVERVIEW

By the early 1800s many people believed slavery would soon die out in the United States. Most Northern states had completed or begun emancipation of enslaved persons, the United States had outlawed the African slave trade, and many Southerners had freed their slaves. Then, a new invention, the cotton gin, changed all of this. The cotton gin made cotton production easier and more profitable. Tremendous growth in cotton production meant tremendous growth in the need for slaves to grow and harvest the cotton. In 1820 there were more than 1.5 million Americans enslaved. By 1830 there were over two million slaves. In response, the abolitionist reform movement grew as well. Abolitionists were people who wanted to abolish, or end, slavery. William Lloyd Garrison was the editor of a well known abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator. He convinced many people that slavery was wrong and should be ended. Abolitionists often held meetings to protest slavery. Speakers at these meetings were often former slaves who shared their experiences. Frederick Douglass was one of the most well known former slaves. He published his own newspaper, The North Star, to encourage the government and individuals to take action against slavery. Some abolitionists such as John Brown felt that violence was necessary to end slavery. Although the abolition movement grew during this time, many Northerners and Southerners still opposed abolition. Abolitionist leaders were often attacked, meetings disrupted, and printing presses of abolition newspapers burned. During this time Congress refused to hear any petitions related to abolition. Eventually slavery would be abolished in 1865, but not until a terrible civil war had been fought.

The laws quoted below are three of 23 statutes related to slave behavior passed by the

Georgia legislature and signed into law in 1848. These laws were generally referred to as

“slave codes.” Use this information to identify the reasons for the anti-slavery reform

movement.

Slave Codes of the State of Georgia, 1848

URL: http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/slavelaw.htm

1) Scroll down to ART. I. CRIMES, OFFENCES, AND PENALTIES.

2) Open and read Link #4 Punishment of slaves for striking white persons.

3) Open and read Link #11 Punishment for teaching slaves or free persons of color

to read.

4) Open and read Link #14 Punishment of free persons of color for harboring

slaves.

Angelina Grimké was the daughter of a Charleston slaveholder. She moved to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers, a religious group that believes in non-violence. She was a leading advocate of women’s rights and abolitionism. In this document, you will read remarks made by Ms. Grimké at an Anti-Slavery convention in 1838. Use information in the document to identify methods used by abolitionists to bring about change.

Angelina Grimké Weld’s Speech at Pennsylvania Hall

URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2939t.html

Autobiographies of former slaves describing their experiences (below) were often used to inform Northerners of the evils of slavery and to gain support for abolition.

An Autobiography of a Former Slave

URL: http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page.cfm?ID=316

Last updated 03.13.2007. Created by Michael Warner, Library Media Specialist